Mid Floor Steering!

[TxGasser]

Evening!
I'm building a closed cab T bucket hack,
and i'm looking for someone that has done
an ol skool mid floor steering setup as this
will give me more than enough leg room
inside the cab! Can anybody help me out?

Thanks,
Johnny!
tx-gasser@sbcglobal.net

 

[GAB]

Here is an ancient installation that used a Dodge Van steering box from sometime in the 60's. Worked pretty well and the column was pretty rigid.

Hope this helps.

 

[TxGasser]

Too cool!
I wonder if you can do the same thing with
a Vega steering box?

Thanks,
Johnny!

 

[Youngster]

George is that one you did or is that the one Curt Hamilton did?

Johnny ... if you are going to do this kind of steering, the dodge box is the best. the shaft is solid, no couplers, that's why it's so ridgid. you will need that ridgity 'cause that's what you'll be hangin on to to get in and out of the car. the vega box won't work as well be cause of the coupler and the mounting is on the wrong side of the box.

i want to add, these are great pictures to study. lots of good info there on other solutions for mounts.

Ron

 

[TxGasser]

Any idea what year Dodge box?
Is that a Dodge steering column?

Johnny!

 

[Youngster]

maybe late '60's or early '70's .......

Ron

 

[GAB]

Ron,

This is one that I did for a local guy. The steering box would have to pretty well be from sometime in the 60's as this car was built in about 1971 or 2. Dang CRS! :lol:

Here are a couple of pics that might help. The column was just a piece of tube with a bushing machined for the upper end and some machining to adapt the T steering wheel. Also, in the second pic in the other post, there is a slit in the front side of the bottom of the column tube. A clamp was used with this slit to give a good solid connection to the steering box. Clamp was added later in the build.

Hope this helps.

 

[TxGasser]

Thanks for the pic's!
So you can use just about any column
as long as it mates up the the Dodge
steering box!

Johnny!

 

[oldser]

Hey guys, First time poster here. My T Bone is now 40 years old and in its 4th tear-down for corrections.
I was also hell-bent on a vertical column, so I used a Corvair box, inverted. Drove it for many years, with the only real bitch being the amount of flex, or free play in the wheel. I could not find a way to secure all 4 sides of my box mounting plate. It was welded to the x-member on two sides, but the inner and bottom edges just hung in the breeze, so it flex'ed a bunch. Adding to that, the drag link was long and also had a lot of flex, so steering was sloppy, especially when not moving.
I have now changed to a Vega cross-steer up front linked back to a 90 degree coupler from Angl-Gear. I needed a couple of u-joints to navigate inside the rails up to the steering arm. Still in progress, so I don't know the effectiveness yet. I'm a little concerned about the Angl-Gear's strength, though. Anybody had experience with it?
Secondly, the car developed a severe front shimmy after ten years on the road. First time ity happened, it bent the 3/4 inch moly tie rod into a vee. Had to drive home almost idling, with wheels looking like Charlie Chaplain!
The shimmy was intermittenet and unpredictable, happening at 50 mph. One time, I was told the rear wheels were bouncing off the road.
I think (spelled h.o.p.e.) I finally found the cause a year ago. The right side spring perch bolt hole was woggled out, allowing the axle to snap forward or backward, depending on acceleration or braking, explaining the randomness of the problem.
Now to my request. With the front end changes, I also want to copy a suspension I saw years ago on Li'l John's bucket in Loiusville. He had a beautiful mount which was tapered bottom to top and mounted his lights as well as his coil-overs. I can't remember what it looked like. Anybody here seen it or one like it? I am currently on a traditional spring but playing with going to coil-overs.

Thanks in advance for your ears.
My name is Dick, I'm from Detroit and now in Tampa.

rpustelnik@tampabay.rr.com
813-996-6193

 

[Brucer]

isnt a volkswagen box vertical?seems like i hear alot using those for the vertical steer.

 

[VegasBruce]

The VW Bus box will work. One out of a Bug will not, it attaches to the front beam.

 

[TRoadster]

Another choice might be a 65-66 mustang box. They have a long 1" shaft which could be cut to size. The pitman arm would point up but that might not be a problem. Also, the mustang box in its power form has 16:1 steering ratio. A tube could be slipped around the base where the shaft comes out and used to mount to the firewall.

 

[Ted Brown]

I have mounted a few, very few, Milk truck type steerings in T Buckets, something the customer would not give up , until He drove it a while, then I changed it back to the same as mine, top the frame in front of the firewall.. but onward to that type, you can use whatever box you like, the coupler has absolutely nothing to do with the strength of the column. Make a nice 4X4 inch square plate, with 4 mounting bolts (3/8") weld it to a column of your choice, bolt it to your solid floor boards, now you are off and steering, no flexing, unless your floor boards are way too thin, then you will need to make your mounting plate larger, say 6"X6" or more??
That setup looks real neat, but is a bitch to drive as a normal car, and usually is in the way of getting in and out, but you already know this.. So, good luck with your project PS, You may have to extend the pitman arm mounting shaft just like any cowl steering...

 

[oldtman]

About 40 years ago the guy that ran the local rental yard used a rack and pinion with a verticle column. only used one side for the tirerod for the push- pull draglink running foreward I don't know good how it worked.

 

[Youngster]

i think Dan's "Leg Show" had a rack and pinion set up like the one you discribed. maybe dan or ted will confrim this.

the "pot" steering was popular on the cartoon show bucket type cars. i have only had to set one up that way to meet the customers wishes. later redone to the top of the frame in front of the firewall as per the same customers wishes

Ron

 

[40ford]

I have an old HRMx magazine that has an article about an Aussie or NZer in Calif putting one in his T bucket. It was the 4th or 5th T bucket he had built with that r&p setup. IIRC it was out of an early model Honda Civic. Quality of photos were not the best in world but if someone wants to see them I will try to find the article and scan and post it.
Ron A.